Report: 1.7-million vets lack health coverage

WASHINGTON - Nearly 1.7-million military veterans have no health insurance or access to government hospitals and clinics for veterans, according to a report Tuesday from a doctors' group that favors federally financed health care. The Bush administration disputed the numbers.

The number of uninsured veterans jumped by 235,000 since 2000, meaning they are losing health insurance at a faster rate than the general population, said Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates a universal health insurance program.

The report traced some of the increase to the Bush administration's decision last year to suspend health care services for higher-income veterans who don't have service-connected illnesses.

Veterans also reported they were on wait lists for appointments, could not afford co-payments or lived in communities with no veterans' facilities.

Cynthia Church, spokeswoman for the Veterans Affairs Department, said the doctors' group was "using veterans to advance their political agenda."

The administration estimates the number of uninsured veterans at under 900,000, Church said. Wait times to see doctors also have been reduced, she said.

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